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National Commentaries

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December 12, 2016 National Commentaries
A View from Australia

The year 2016 marked the seventieth anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between Australia and the Philippines. It also heralded the election of Rodrigo Duterte as the Philippines’ 16th […]

Darren J. Lim

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Australia, Australia-Philippines Comprehensive Partnership, Davao hostage crisis, Duterte, East China Sea, mutual defense treaty, One Belt One Road, Philippines, rise of China, South China Sea, Territorial Disputes, Trump administration, war on drugs
December 12, 2016 National Commentaries
A View from Malaysia

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak made high-profile visits to China from October 18-21 and from October 31 to November 5, 2016, respectively. It […]

Kuik Cheng-Chwee*

1MDB, Aman Youyi, ASEAN, CARAT, Comprehensive strategic partnership, corruption, Duterte, enhanced defense cooperation agreement, Infrastructure, Najib Razak, One Belt One Road, Pacific Partnership, Philippines, RCEP, South China Sea, TPP, Trump administration, Tsai Ing-wen, war on drugs
October 6, 2016 National Commentaries
Seoul’s THAAD decision and its implications for China-ROK relations

On the heels of China’s approval of tougher sanctions on North Korea—following Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test—there was, for a moment, a sense that China’s policy on Korea was […]

Eun A Jo

Ballistic Missiles, China-South Korea relations, Nuclear Test, sanctions, Six-Party Talks, SLBM, THAAD, US-South Korean relations
October 6, 2016 National Commentaries
ASEAN’s Divided Approach to China’s Rise

In a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-China dialogue relations earlier this month, Chinese premier Li Keqiang offered an unsurprisingly positive view of the […]

Prashanth Parameswaran

1Malaysia Development Berhad, ASEAN-China relations, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, One Belt One Road, South China Sea
October 6, 2016 National Commentaries
Can Australia Say “No”?

Growing trade and investment between their highly complementary economies ensures that Australia and China have a common interest in maintaining healthy bilateral relations. To be sure, Canberra and […]

John Fitzgerald

China-Australia relations, Foreign donations, Foreign Investment, Political Institutions, South China Sea
August 3, 2016 National Commentaries
Implementing Sanctions against North Korea：A US Perspective

By all accounts, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270 represents a significant and unexpected advance of the authority given to the UN and member states to pursue […]

James Walsh

Resolution 2270, South China Sea, THAAD, UN Panel of Experts
August 3, 2016 National Commentaries
Implementing Sanctions against North Korea：A South Korean Perspective

North Korea’s latest nuclear and missile tests have compelled the international community to issue the most comprehensive round of sanctions against it. UNSC Resolution 2270 not only strengthens […]

Go Myong-hyun*

Agreed Framework, Kaesong Industrial Complex, nuclear policy, Resolution 2270, THAAD, WMDs
August 3, 2016 National Commentaries
Implementing Sanctions against North Korea：A Chinese Perspective

North Korea’s repeated nuclear and missile tests have invited international sanctions, including those by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Since 2006, the UNSC passed six resolutions against […]

Cheng Xiaohe*

Agreed Framework, China-DPRK bilateral relations, China-DPRK trade, Non-proliferation treaty, Resolution 2270, Six-Party Talks
June 16, 2016 National Commentaries
A View from the United States: Defending Camelot

President Obama’s final G7 summit meeting occurred against the backdrop of a world in which the core values espoused by the G7—democracy, the free-market economy, and respect for […]

Frank Jannuzi

Brexit, Consensus-building, International norms, Musudan IRBM, TPP, UNCLOS Tribunal, US nuclear deterrence
June 16, 2016 National Commentaries
A View from Germany

The summit in Ise-Shima was already the third G7-meeting without Russia. (Germany had hosted the previous gathering in Elmau in 2015.) Japan, thus, worked particularly closely with Germany […]

Hanns W. Maull

German-Russian cooperation, ITLOS, Leaders' Declaration, Quantitative easing, Three arrows, UN sanctions regime, Wandel durch Annäherung